Things are a little tight this month so I made a resolution to use up all (or a lot) of the food that I have in my pantry and freezer. Sure, I should always be doing this anyway but exciting recipes always seem to entice me into trying (and buying) new things.
Anyway, I have two huge bags of lentils (a.k.a. “dal”) sitting in my pantry that have been waiting for their day in the spot light. I saw this recipe for Dal Nirvana over on Steamy Kitchen and it looked so scrumptious that I had to try it. The best part is that the ingredient list is mostly items that I already have. Indian recipes are tricky because they usually include ingredients that I don’t have nor have I ever heard of! This recipe, on the other hand is different. It’s simple, it’s delicious, it’s super filling and I’d happily eat it every day.
I served the Dal with some simple, steamed jasmine rice and homemade naan (Indian flat bread). The recipe for the naan will be up in a couple of days… it turned out AMAZING!
Dal Nirvana
Dal Nirvana
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 cup dry brown lentils ($0.31)
- 1 15oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes ($1.49)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.12)
- 1 inch fresh ginger ($0.07)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.17)
- salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk or cream ($0.75)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.37)
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a pot and cover with a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil until tender (about ten minutes). Drain the lentils in a colander.
- While the lentils are boiling, mince the garlic and peel and grate the ginger (use a small cheese grater). Return the drained lentils to the pot (medium heat) and add the butter, ginger, garlic, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Add the can of tomatoes and one cup of water. Stir it all together, bring it to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for half an hour. The mixture should be soft and thick after a half hour. If it is not, continue to simmer, adding more water if it dries out. You want the end product to be thick, not watery.
- Stir in the evaporated milk or cream and garnish with fresh, chopped cilantro. Serve over rice or with naan bread for dipping!
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
I have this huge bag of brown lentils so that is what I used. Black lentils were used in the Steamy Kitchen recipe so feel free to experiment.
Place the lentils in a pot and cover with two inches of water.
Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Boil until the lentils are soft (about ten minutes).
While the lentils boil, mince the garlic, peel and grate the ginger.
Drain the lentils then return them to the pot (reduce heat to medium).
Add the butter, garlic, ginger, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir it on up.
Add the can of crushed or diced tomatoes, one cup of water and stir it all together.
Simmer the mixture with a lid on until it is cooked down to a soft, thick mixture.
Add the evaporated milk or cream…
Stir it up, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve it up!
NOTE: I’m sure you could make this recipe for less money than I did. I happened to be near a Whole Foods yesterday so I stopped there to pick up the few ingredients that I didn’t have (cilantro, ginger, cream and diced tomatoes). I may have paid a little more than usual but this recipe is so simple and inexpensive that it was still well worth it.
The Steamy Kitchen version says it serves four but I portioned out my lunches and got six servings out of the pot. Of course, I was serving the Dal with rice and naan which bulked up the meal as a whole.
I’ve made this probably a dozen times, I think it’s the only recipe that I have memorized other than chocolate milk. It’s such a solid recipe that’s great for having leftovers. Since it’s lentils the leftovers are even better than the night of! I like to add about a cup of matchstick carrots and a few hearty teaspoons of garam masala and curry.
This was good! I added a few extra spices (some turmeric, a bay leaf, and two teaspoons of rice wine vinegar and sugar each). The extra spices just added a bit more complexity. Also, because I’m always trying to cut down on fat, I used evaporated fat-free milk instead of cream. It worked really well!
Psst, you never specify in the directions when to add in the cumin. I don’t actually see it in your photos, either! I’m assuming it wasn’t a mistake in the ingredients list so I just put it in with the other spices.
I made this tonight and it was very good! I threw in 1/4 tsp turmeric for good measure and served it with the jasmine rice and naan. My roommate isn’t a fan of Indian food, but she still enjoyed it, which is always a good sign. :)
Thanks for noticing that!! :) I’ll go fix it now… I can’t believe it’s been like that for years and no one else noticed or mentioned it. ;)
I was wondering if anyone had experience with the Trader Joes Coconut Milk “beverage”.. which I bought last night when preparing to make this dish only to realize when I got home, that it said beverage and not milk. I do not want it to ruin the recipe if it is not thick enough/too sweet. Would it be better at this point to go for not using any “creamy” component at all or shall I try the mystery “milk beverage”. HELP PLEASE, I have to serve dinner in 4 hrs :)
Sorry I didn’t get to your comment on time, Becca! I’m honestly not sure what I would have done in that situation. The coconut beverage is much more watery than regular coconut milk, so I think maybe I would have just skipped it and had the dish be a regular curry lentil instead. :P
ya.. i skipped it, and yet the lentils still came out watery..it was my first try though and i love lentils so ill keep trying. i made last month Asian cuisine month and cooked several of your recipes and me and my man LOVED them…. my first “go” at Indian food March was not so good. I made the tandoori bites and think I cut the chunks too thin and the meat was overcooked. Also, before I flipped them over, I noticed there was sauce that was prob from left over yogurt… is that normal to see that liquid? Then I tried to use brown jasmine rice to be healthier for the “yellow rice” and the rice was a bit too aldente…haha… do you have a recommendation for any lentil dishes that do NOT use tomato? I am sensitive to acidity and I would love any suggestions on that end.
Hmm, I don’t remember any sauce/liquid under the tandoori bites, but chicken does usually release some moisture as it cooks (as protein fibers contract, they squeeze out water), so it could be that. And yeah, you definitely want to use white jasmine rice for the yellow rice. :) Maybe you could try this lentil recipe? It’s a lot like the yellow rice, but with lentils instead… but it needs the coconut milk again. :)
This was a surprisingly filling dish. I used red lentils, as that is what was on hand, and served with a little rice, garlic naan and some stirfried veggies. It was a huge hit, and the spices were spot on.
Dahl is actually a favourite comfort food in this family – we have it for a mother’s treat with home made chappattis, mint and cucumber raita, and mango chutney – the later is considered essential by one member of this family.
This is one of my favorite recipes, ever. I make it, like, twice a month. So good, so cheap, so easy – thank you!
This recipe is amazing! So delicious, simple to prepare and can be made in under an hour. Today I ran out of rice/naan so I ate it with cottage cheese and even though I don’t like cottage cheese, I do when it’s with this dish!
Beth,
I’m super excited to make this and just want to make sure that I get it right and make enough! How much salt did you end up using in your recipe? How big would you consider a serving to be? Thanks!
It was probably about a cup of lentils per serving. I didn’t measure the salt, I just sprinkled some on, stirred it, tasted, then added more if needed. So just start with a dash and taste to see if you want more. :)
This was super easy and delicious. I used red lentils since they were on hand and just used 1% milk in my fridge. Still very flavorful, creamy and smooth. The red lentils make the dish quite a bit brighter visually. Had it with garlic naan and a stir fry of veggies, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Great dish, healthy and inexpensive.
The cooking water doesn’t need to be discarded at all! We never throw the water away when we make daal (I’m Pakistani, but obviously our food is Indian in origin). And if you keep the water, then you can easily make this a slow cooker recipe (crock pot daal is amazing btw!).
We rinse it very well, then soak it for 20-30 min prior to cooking- so that it cooks faster. Add it to a pot with water, add salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp red chili powder, and 1/2 a chopped tomato. Bring it to a boil, then simmer until it’s tender. Separately fry a small, thinly sliced onion and 1 thinly sliced clove of garlic until golden brown, then add in 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds 30 seconds before the onion-garlic mixture is done…pour this over the daal and mix it well. Add some butter and some cream to the daal, garnish w/ chopped cilantro and you’re done! This is basically daal makhani, since you added butter and cream to it. Regular daal is made w/o those last 2 ingredients added.
I have to wonder if the lentil cooking water really does need discarded. Going to research this – am sure other lentil soups don’t require that? Actually, i’m going to make a non-drained, double batch in the crockpot!
Hi! I really love this recipe but the times I’ve made it, it takes much longer than 30 minutes for the lentils/tomatoes/water to cook down! What’s up with that? I leave it around 3 on my burner and its bubbling so it’s plenty hot… Any tips? It’s just a little annoying to have it simmer for an hour+!
Thanks :)
It sounds like you may be using French or green lentils. That variety takes 45+ minutes to cook. The trouble is that the packages aren’t always labeled with the same names, so it can be tough to know which kind you have. Look for “brown” lentils and if it doesn’t have a specific variety listed, check the cooking instructions on the package to see if it says to simmer for 20-25 minutes or closer to 45 minutes. I hope that helps! :)
Wow, made it this past week and it was incredible! We used red lentils. The recipes states 6 servings but how many cups is each serving approximately? We were too ravenous and between the two of us gobbled down everything.
I don’t remember off hand (I think that bit of data didn’t get transmitted to the new format when I moved pages), but it was probably around 3/4c to 1 cup per serving. If you don’t serve it with rice and other sides, then you’ll definitely eat more :)
Just made this tonight. Amazing! Only thing I changed was adding 1/4 tsp garam masala powder. Served it with naan and steamed cauliflower. Thanks!